Both EADS and Thales produced results demonstrating continued resilience in their sectors in spite of the Eurozone crisis.
EADS
27 Jul 12. EADS (stock exchange symbol: EAD) achieved solid financial results in the first half of 2012, exceeding expectations. Order intake(5) in the first six months reached €28.2bn driven by solid order activity at Eurocopter, Astrium, Cassidian and Airbus Military and ongoing commercial momentum at Airbus. At the end of June, EADS’ order book(5) stood at a record level of €551.7bn providing stability and visibility in the current macro environment. Revenues amounted to € 24.9bn. The EBIT* before one-off of around €1.4bn benefited from strong underlying performance. The reported EBIT* amounted to € 1.1bn, significantly above the 2011 level. The Net Cash position amounted to €9.7 bn.
“The Group performed well in the first six months and our financial results demonstrate steady momentum. The new management is united in pursuing improved profitability through a clear focus on programme execution. Another focus of our efforts is to further integrate and globalise EADS. One important step into this direction is our decision to build a Final Assembly Line for Airbus aircraft in the US”, said Tom Enders, CEO of EADS. “Our key programmes, particularly at Airbus, continue to command our utmost attention. On A350 especially, maturity of sections delivered to the final assembly is of key importance to us as we prepare for a robust production ramp-up.”
In the first six months of 2012, EADS’ revenues increased 14 percent to
€24.9bn (H1 2011: €21.9bn) driven by growth across all Divisions. The newly acquired companies in 2011 contributed by around €800m to this growth. Until the end of June, physical deliveries continued to be at a high level with 279 aircraft at Airbus Commercial and 198 helicopters at Eurocopter. In July, Astrium achieved the 49th consecutive successful Ariane 5 launch.
EBIT* before one-off – an indicator capturing the underlying business margin by excluding non-recurring charges or profits caused by movements in provisions or foreign exchange impacts – stood at around €1.4bn (H1 2011: around €0.7bn) for EADS and at around €830m for Airbus (H1 2011: around €310m). The increase compared to the same period last year is driven by improved performance at Airbus Commercial, Eurocopter and Astrium. Operational improvement at Airbus Commercial includes favourable volume and better pricing. Eurocopter performance reflects volume and mix effects from commercial and support activity while at Astrium the increase is driven by productivity improvements and the integration of Vizada.
During the first half of 2012, EADS accelerated its hedge activity and implemented $19.2bn of new hedge contracts at an average rate of
€1 = $1.31, which enhances stability of the Group’s financial performance. At the end of June, EADS’ total hedge portfolio stood at $84.1bn.
EADS’ reported EBIT* increased by 91 percent to €1,078m (H1 2011: €563m), driven by the improvement of the EBIT* before one-off. In the first half of 2012, the dollar mismatch and balance sheet revaluation had a positive impact on the EBIT* of around €20m. This quarter, with the A350 XWB Entry-into-Service moving into H2 2014, Airbus Commercial booked a charge of €124m to account for the actual delay of around three months.
The A380 wing rib technical fix is under development. For the A380s already delivered, the total charges recorded in the first half of 2012 amounted to €181m, of which €23m were booked in the second quarter.
Net Income rose significantly to €594m (H1 2011: €109m), or earnings per share of € 0.73 (earnings per share H1 2011: €0.13). The Net Income* before one-off(4) increased to €814m (H1 2011: €389m) in line with the strong underlying performance.
The finance result amounts to €-239m (H1 2011: €-366m). The interest result of €-143m (H1 2011: €-97m) deteriorated compared to the 2011 level, main